(Buffalo) Fall 2020. We've recently learned that there's no point frantically washing greased cans of corn on the way back from Steinberg's. But the world is still in the middle of a pandemic and everyone is facing its challenges.
At Mount St. Charles Academy, A preparatory School From Rhode Island, Sacha Boisvert, a 14-year-old from Trois-Rivières, camps with almost no knowledge of the English language.
“I had to make new friends, I lived in a dorm, my parents weren't there. At Christmas, I had to make a decision: go home and risk missing the rest of the season because it wasn't certain I would be able to cross the border, or live in one of my team members' house.” “I went to a friend’s house.”
I realized at an early age that I would have to make a lot of sacrifices to get to what I wanted in life.
Sasha Boisvert
This Wednesday, Boisvert is where every hockey player wants to be this time of year: in Buffalo. This is a luxury hotel in the city center that is no less luxurious Journalism I met him during the NHL draft evaluation camp.
Of interest
Boisvert has continued his development in the United States since the famous fall of 2020, but he arrives here as Quebec's top prospect in the 2024 draft and his entourage expects to claim the 6'2″, 176-pound forward among the 15th.H The twenty-fifthH Rank. It is in these waters that the main expert rankings place them. Comes to 22H Bob McKenzie's (TSN) shortlisted rankings are ranked 21stH Sam Cosentino Rank (Sportsnet).
Once in Top 10 After the first round is over, the rest of the first round can be very volatile, since the trading odds are higher. In the eventful 2022 draft, picks 7, 11, 13, 25, 27 and 29 changed hands on the same day of the first round.
In these circumstances, Boisvert will meet with 29 of the 32 teams in the NHL this week. The three exceptions: Tampa (no picks in the first three rounds), Vancouver (no picks in the first two rounds), and New Jersey, willing to trade its No. 1 pickany Round and already without a second option.
Among the 29 interviews he conducted, we particularly note the difficult meeting with Al-Kindi. Jeff Gorton and Kent Hughes, who did not attend all of the interviews, also participated in the interview with Boisvert. “I liked it, it was a different challenge from other teams,” the youngster said.
Boisvert offers an interesting scope for an NHL team. He describes himself as a “talented power forward, good at both ends of the ice.” I can throw, give checks, and play the physical game. The physical play is what makes me so fascinated with teams. I'm a good player, but I also have the competitive element. “The kind of mixture that Al-Kindi can’t get enough of.
The numbers match his description. With the Muskegon Lumberjacks in the USHL, he scored 68 points in 61 games. With 36 goals, he finished the season with 5 goalsH Rank on the US Junior Circuit. But we also note his 86 minutes from penalties. In an interview with his RDS teammate Eric Leblanc, he said he had played six times this season, a number verified by analyzing his match summaries.
Image from the MUSKEGON LUMBERJACKS website
Sasha Boisvert
“I've fought many times to defend my teammates, or to change the momentum. That's my competitive side, I'm a leader, and I'm ready to defend my teammates. I took up boxing when I was younger, and my father was a boxing coach. I'm not afraid of it, “This is part of the game, there are still battles.”
Boisvert accomplished all of this at a time when recruiters of 32 teams were looking at the Florida Panthers, a team led certainly by Aleksander Barkov, but where Matthew Tkachuk and Sam Bennett also deployed that happy combination of offensive talent and power.
However, Boisvert did not mention the name of Matthew Tkachuk or his brother Brady when asked what player he would like to become.
I want to be myself, even if it's a cliche to say so. But I love watching Anze Kopitar. He's tall and big, he's a face-winning midfielder, he's good at 200 feet, he can play on the power play and on the penalty kill, he's a Cup-winning leader. This is a very good example.
Sasha Boisvert
Boisvert will find out more about his future on June 28 during the draft in Vegas. His next destination, however, will be the University of North Dakota, where he will play starting this fall. It was pointed out to him that he didn't exactly choose the college closest to his home, given the number of hockey programs in the Boston area, which is a five-hour drive from Quebec.
However, we are talking here with a young man who exiled himself from home when he was fourteen years old to help himself achieve his dream. “I have made sacrifices since I was little. I would be willing to go to Australia to play in the National League!”
“Hipster-friendly tv trailblazer. Problem solver. Infuriatingly humble introvert. Reader. Student. Subtly charming bacon maven.”
